I'm in a small town in the mountains trying to prepare for a May 19th figure competition. (My first competition.) There is nobody here who knows anything about figure competition so I'm completely alone and trying to learn everything off the internet.

My burning question today is whether I should be feeling low carb energy lag this far ahead of the contest. I'm 5 ft 7, 129.5 lbs....on 2400calories a day, 2 hrs split workout each day. Macros aiming for 40 carb/40pro/20fat each day and a lot of days I'm close on that. Should going to 40/40/20 have been a more gradual thing over a couple months instead of 2 weeks? I imagined carb lag was something people only got in the last month but I think I already have it.

Also...I am definitely getting more cut now....especially in abs and upper body but still a good thick layer of fat around my thighs...is that generally the last fat to go? Or should it be already noticeably dropping after 1st month of cutting.

If there's anyone on this site that has experience doing these figure competitions it would be great to connect with you...I need people to answer my random questions as I'm preparing becuase I don't know if I'm doing things right...

What is your current body fat percentage? Can you post some photos? It helps to see what someone looks like to gauge success in their dieting choices.

Usually, the last place to lose fat, in my experience, is where the majority of the fat is. So if you naturally have more fat on your thighs, that will more than likely be the last place it disappears from.

I must say though, for your height and weight, i would REALLY like to know your body composition break down, preferably from a 7 site skin fold measurement. If you get me the numbers for each site i can even do the break down for you.

Throw that hand held one away! Ha! Those are horribly inaccurate. Do the skin fold measurements again. And remember,if this iis a figure competition,you aren't expected to be shreded/ripped like a body builder would.

You look really good. Your back width is awesome, and you even from today you have 9 weeks, so it seems like your ahead of schedule from what I'm seeing, but I'm only speaking from minimal experience in seeing female competitors. A tan would obviously be of help also. As far as your legs, coach's advice made a lot of sense to me. If that's a natural place for your body to store fat then that'll be the last place it'll disappear from.

As for the real question though, carbs are the best thing in the world for building and maintaining muscle. Yes, the best, even better than protein. In competitive mode I understand you are wanting to cut, but assuming you are losing the general 1/2 ib - 1 ib per week I personally think you should keep carbs as high as you can. Besides, I'm sure you're well aware, but for a figure competition it is possible to go in with your body fat % too low. I don't think you're in danger of that right now,but depending on how quickly you are dropping fat it's something to keep in mind.

I'm definitely not an expert, but I've competed before and been around female competitors, and that's what I took away. Hopefully you've hooked up with someone that has a lot of knowledge.

Also, You're very pretty. I know that's neither here nor there, but that doesn't hurt you none for sure.

bad news....I was extreme sick all last week and lost 5 lbs. I don't know what to do now...its 7 weeks from competition. Today 124 lbs and the goal weight was 127. I can see my upper body muscle is deteriorated. Is it possible to salvage myself or should I drop the idea of competing at this show. I don't want to go in knowing I'm less than my best...but I don't want to kill myself trying to get it back together for 7 weeks and not be able to make it happen if its impossible to do. Can a person bulk up 5 lbs and cut down again in 7 weeks?

I felt like throwing up for 4 days and tried to put things in my mouth but couldn't swallow...i really tried my best...all I could think about was how it would affect my weight and that I need to eat...but also I've had insomnia for a month - which got worse when I cut back my workouts to 1/3 intensity because I thought I was over training. I went to the hospital twice because I started having violent episodes from lack of sleep, one time the cops actually took me in...basically losing my mind...but I refused their meds.There were only 2 days that I didn't get in 2400 cal which is my maintenance intake...one day 1300 cal and one 1800 cal... mathematically I figured that should only cost me 1/2 lb. I know some weight was just water loss. I didn't drink much either because I didn't want to wake up to go to the bathroom at night since I can't fall asleep again. Whats shocking is how much I see the 5 lbs lost off my muscles and how weak I still am. I'm going to creatine load this week and eat as much as I can but i will also gain some fat and water with muscle...not sure if I can gain that much muscle back and still have time to cut in 7 weeks.

I was at 11% body fat in the photos....I'd only need to lose 1% or 2% more fat to compete.

Whats the Wayne Gretzky quote about taking the shots...you can't make the shot if you don't take it. You are SEVEN weeks out...unless you get really sick again, you have more than enough time to do this. Its almost TWO full months. If failure is not an option, than put your best foot forward, get your food squared away, and eat and train. And if mental mind games are present---this is part of moving forward...you set a goal, a date and now follow through is part of it. Its all part of being your best, right? I am sure only you see the difference ...and after three days of eating, you will see the weight come back on. If you were that down and out ( I do believe in the states- if cops were called you could have been eligible for a "5150"), you have more in the balance than not just eating or doing a competition, etc. NOT doing this now could be as big a disappointment...Goals and follow through. Don't make the competition bigger than YOU. I'm rooting for you, Disney Princess. You won't know if you q don't try...and unless you are medically contraindicated..Get back out there and finish!

i trained for a marathon and never ran one....I get really sick like this every 6 months or so (where I get violent and should be hospitalized)...but I also get really sick every month with my monthly cycle. I don't take meds...so no pain killers or anything and I get cramps for 4 days usually. EVERY time I get my period its diarrhea for days and I can't eat. So that on top of a month of insomnia and losing weight too fast already really knocked me out last week. They were planning to send me to the psych ward for a week but I pretended things weren't as bad as they are.

Even if I get back on track in the next 2 weeks there is still one more monthly cycle before the competition and it will take its usual toll. I don't feel like I can compete with other people who can just pop pills in their mouth for whatever is bothering them and have a normal productive day of eating, sleeping, and weight training.

I wouldn't worry too much about the weight loss from being sick - things happen, and it's not worth scrapping the whole plan because life threw you for a curve when you didn't expect it. That's just the way things go sometimes, and if you're waiting for the perfect lead-in to competition, it's going to be next to impossible to obtain.

One thing to remember, sometimes being sick for a few days just makes you feel "flat" from a bit of fasting and loss of stored carbohydrates, but a few days back to training and eating normally often will balance it out better. I lost 9 lbs. in 3 days about 2 weeks ago when I got really sick, couldn't eat more than about 500 cal./day for a few days. Now that I've gotten back to normal, 7 of those 9 lbs. came back, so I'd expect that by next week, you'll likely see some of the weight return. Up the carbs slightly for a day or two if need be (not excessively, but by a bit), that should help things along unless you really need to keep carbs low right now to maintain where you want to be.

I think you'll be surprised by how well you do once you get out there, just don't let this setback ruin all your hard work!

_________________"A 'hardgainer' is merely someone who hasn't bothered to try enough different training methods to learn what is actually right for their own damned body." - anonymous

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